Notes / Commercial Description:
Join us in celebrating ten years of Terrapin with an Ale brewed with a Belgian yeast strain, Coriander, two kinds of orange peel and Chamomile. We chose to express this beautiful beer with what has been described as a beautiful equation… sip the beer while you ponder the math and our beautiful universe full of so much possibility!

Creamy, medium heavy feel with a nice low carbonation that allows the brew to coat the tongue. Sweet honey and floral finish.

Belgian strong pale ales rarely wow me but I'm impressed. I've had two bottles in my cellar since last April but so far had only had this on tap at Terrapin's last two anniversary carnivals. This bottle was so much better than those tap pours. Sweet, complex and full bodied. I was apprehensive about buying two bottles but now I wish I'd bought more. I love the honey and think this will still be going strong for at least a couple more years.

"'It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know if must be the truth.' Benjamin Pierce". Brewed in the style of a Belgian Strong Pale Ale with spices added. Brewed in March 2012 in celebration of Terrapin's 10th Anniversary. This bottle has been aged for about 1 year, 3 months.

Poured from a 22 oz. bomber to a Terrapin Snifter. Served north of 54º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a frothy off-white head over a hazy golden yellow body. Plenty of sediment in tow, clarity is very low overall. Retention is average at best, lacing is thin and streaked. There isn't a great deal of presentation power in this beer but the age may have something to do with that. 3

(Smell) Aromas of spiced bread, wheat malt, a touch of clean honey sweetness, a pinch of floral and earthy hops, some expected booziness from fruity esters, expect a touch of semi-sweet pear and raisin. Spice is pleasant in it's simplicity but enjoyable in its diversity- a pinch of coriander is met with a more unique nutmeg and pepper, with hints of ginger candy and a touch of moist honey sweetness giving some added dimension to the body. Altogether it's quite an approachable aroma. Potency is medium. 4

(Taste) Up front, lightly spiced bready pale malts with a subtle floral bouquet, a drizzle of sweet honey malt, merging to a mildly dry and very subtle fruit finish. It's worth knowing that the most unique part of the flavor is an unmistakeable chamomile, clove and honey character, the latter likely accounts for the alcohol content of this beer, and the upcoming texture as well. Yet, when joined by a dash of bright, effervescent coriander and chamomile, it is very surprising that this beer is as clean and quaffable as it is. Perhaps the most jarring criticism comes from a general lack of participation from the orange peel. There are reportedly two varieties, I cannot detect either in the flavor of this beer. 4.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is smooth, slick with a mildly chewy body. Carbonation adds a touch of creaminess and fluffiness to the relatively tame, mildly viscous texture. Body is medium amongst Belgian Pale Ales, medium/heavy overall. Alcohol presence is medium+, not surprising for the style. I'm glad that the carbonation was kept tame for the style of this beer, as the beer wasn't viscous enough to warrant a creamy or spritely carbonation presence. 4

(Overall) Terrapin crafts a solid homage to Belgian Strong Ales with a charismatic, unique set of ingredients. There's no doubting that anybody who has a glass of this won't be finding something that's particularly unique or well done, for me, it was a very notable Chamomile that did a fine job accenting the malt and spices. I have another bottle of this in storage, and hope to see if this beer continues as gracefully as it has over a year in the cellar. As of June 2013, I still know of at least one store in the Atlanta area that has this beer, PM me to get the whereabouts. 4

Terrapin 10th Anniversary Ale pours a sediment-filled golden with a small head. BSDAs usually aren't my cup of tea, but I bought this based on my like of Terrapin, not being completely sure what style it is. The aroma is sweet, with fruits and honey bringing up the main part of the nose, with some leafy hops and yeast rounding everything together. Actually smells great! The taste is also surprisingly not bad, with a well-rounded fruit and honey flavor up front with some spices on the background. Yeast is present but not out of control. The mouthfeel is heavier and moderately carbonated, and the drinkability is solid. Pretty good.

Taste is way different. None of the tartness or zest or salt, instead it's sweet yeasty banana and apple and other sweet fruit, flowers and hints of spice, honey. Not a lot of hops left but it's a year old. Very tasty.

Mouthfeel is super creamy, milky almost, very rich and well carbed, very drinkable, booze doesn't show at all, feels excellent.

Taste: Lemon pie filling sweetness is cut by an alcoholic tonic bitter that brings everything into balance. A nice interplay of ester, sugar, yeast, alcohol. The finish is remarkably clean, encouraging the next sip.

Mouthfeel: Heavy body is a bit slick and prickly. The carbonation helps lift some of the weight, but is almost painful.

Overall: Wow. A nice Belgian Strong. Hides the blade like a champ, deep in the math somewhere they buried the alcoholic burn that should come with all of this ester, making this a dangerous companion. A real experience, and a celebration of a great brewery.

D - I am always wary of spice Belgians, but this one is actually pretty well done. Still, I can't help but pick it apart on points where it could have been much better; it needs more carbonation, more hops and a little bit of a dryer finish. As it is, it's good, but it could have been world class with a couple of tweaks.

A - Pours a light orange-straw color with a decent finger of near white head, ok retention, very good lacing.

S - Yeast aromas similar to that of an allagash tripel orange and coriender are also very obvious, slightly tart/funky smelling.

T - Very Nelson Sauvin, a strong dry and slightly tart funk. Orange struggles to come through towards finish. Bitter slight tartness from the Nelsons linger through the finish. Once I allow the brew to warm up a bit the Nelson Sauvin dominance subsides, although it remains strong, allowing the other flavors to shine and the beer to become better balanced

M - Lighter bodied, especially for a 9.9%er. Medium+ carbonation

O - Its too bad that the grape/dry/tart like qualities of the hops used just totally dominate my palate (in a not particularly enjoyable way).. After allowing to warm for about 20 minutes the sharp tartness become much more bearable and allows the other flavors to be enjoyed, which I quite like

This is a rather nice beer. It's a bit unique. The chamomile and orange peel are a nice touch to the Belgian pale ale body. It has a nice drinkability for a high ABV beer. If I could find this again, I'd buy it.

The nicest beer I've had from Terrapin in a while. Very nice flavors that are brought together beautifully and complement each other very well. Balanced but flavorful. Pours golden, with a fairly slight head, and a few chunkies floating around- nothing to worry about. Gobs of bubblegum in the nose, as well as some coriander and slightly spicy Rye. Nice. Similar tastes- quite a bit of the spicy rye notes, preceded by some sweetness and finishing with a nice hit of spice that has a bit of a drying effect. Lots of character here!

Appearance: Pours a hazy, dark golden color with a finger and a half of white head. A good amount of lacing is left behind. Head retention is low, but not unexpected given the ABV.

Smell: First aromas are of grapes in a wine-like sense. Then come smells of floral hops, fruits (orange in particular) and Belgian yeast funkiness. The aromas seemed muted in the beginning, but opened up as the beer came to room temps.

Taste: Complex flavors of pineapple, orange citrus and spicy hops, with a twang to it. The beer reminded me somewhat of a saison, with its dryness and a little sourness.

Mouthfeel: Smooth feel on a medium to full body. The high carbonation and citrus notes make for a zesty impression. Aftertastes are of grapes, spices and oranges. The finish is dry and shows some acidity, tartness and a bit of a medicinal quality.

Strong, malty fruity aroma has a subtle undertone of yeast and a hint of - is that coriander? Yes, coriander! It pours a beautiful clear solar yellow with a thick, fluffy and rather persistent white head. Flavor bursts with malt, orange, apple and butterscotch with a bit of a hoppy undertone and hints of yeast and coriander. Smooth, firm texture has a decent amount of fizz and leaves a nice fruity finish that has hints of coriander and hops. Special indeed! BTW I'm drinking this while watching the transit of Venus on-line, for what that's worth.

A Tripel-ish anniversary ale from Terrapin with a very fancy label. The label is well done and, for me, the most distinguished part of the experience. Pours a hazy gold with thin white head that fades quickly leaving only a thin ring behind. Smell: pils, citrus rind, fruity, semi-sweet, grainy cracker. Taste: spicy with a little sweet orange citrus over a grainy pils base (oh, there's rye? that makes sense). Finishes grainy and spicy with lingering sweetness and a little soapiness. I get making a beer like this for a milestone, but the flavors aren't as special as its significance likely is to the Terrapin crew. Good luck in the next 10!

T - quite a melange of flavors, spice and flowers are dominant, orange accents, very sweet, a slight boozy burn is a nice accent

M - it is hard for a beer with this much alcohol to be crisp, but this beer pulls it off

O - quite a surprise for this brewery, I like their beers but they tend to over the top, at 10% it is still quite a bomb, but the flavors are very nuanced, not something I would drink every day, but it is worth a sample

Smell: Moderately grainy-scented pilsner malt given a thorough wash of alcohol and noted scents of the chamomile and coriander seed. Very faint, ineffectual fruity accents in the background.

Taste: Again, more of the grainy pils but with more of a showing from the rye malt. Powdered sugar sweetness. Strong support from the coriander and chamomile, though not much from the orange peel beyond a small singe of triple sec on the tongue. Subtle green banana. Medium bitterness. The spice pulls up, as does the alcoholic heat into the drying, subtly tingly finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-plus carbonation helping to at least keep it from being a syrupy mess.

Overall: I'll pat Terrapin on the back for making it ten long years, I'll also pat myself on the back for making it through (almost) the whole bottle. A beer I had hoped to enjoy, but really didn't at all. Some graininess, some spice, some booze, some sugar.

A: A hazy gold color with very active carbonation and a thin white head that leaves laces on the glass.

S: A very crisp citrus and spice aroma. A bit of bubble gum and pineapple with bready malt and alcohol.

T: The citrus/coriander and bubble gum flavor is initially there but it gives way to a Belgian yeast and alcohol flavor that carries into the finish with a lingering spice. Dry spicy, peppery finish

M: Medium to Heavy feel with a noticeable warmth from the alcohol and crisp dry finish.

O: A very nice Belgian strong ale. Great aroma and good flavors. The alcohol is up front but the fruit and spice come through to balance it out. I have to say, I've had some decent Belgian ales recently, but this one is way above and beyond those. Very clean and crisp flavors that are balanced and well defined. Well done.

appearance: hazy, somewhere between straw and gold. Fairly fat white head.
smell: Very nice indeed. Fruit and floral, a hint of sour and spice. A bit of hops. Mostly it's nice creamy balanced goodness.
taste: Oh yeah, that delivers. I was afraid of a letdown after the impressive nose.
overall: Quite a work of art. Kudos to Terrapin.

A rich, spiced ale. Exceptionally smooth. A light, clean head and good appearance. The nose has distinct chamomile and orange citrus notes. The taste is more complex, giving a floral bouquet and fruity flavorings. A very solid golden ale whose flavors are not overburdened at all by the alcohol content (10%). The beer is quite refreshing.

Only a light hoppiness, appropriate for the style, but perhaps a little lighter than I feel would be truly representative of a Terrapin anniversary ale. It's an excellent late summer beer, transitioning from the traditionally lighter, smoother seasonal beers of summer to the increasingly spiced and complex beers of fall.

Great to see Terrapin reach ten and great to see their anniversary ale here in Greensboro so quickly.Poured into a large tulip glass a honey golden color with a lacey white one finger head atop.Coriander and chamomile is predominent in the nose,light orange oil compliments them very well.Chamamomile and yeasty phenols at the onset of the palate,honey and candied orange followed by some real assertive coriander spice round out the finish.A solid spiced Belgian strong pale,sweet and full of spice.